Action from a match during the opening day of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Aspire Beach Volleyball Qatar Master 2018 held at Aspire Park yesterday.
Doha: Top seeds Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan Janko yesterday got off to a flying start with a lop-sided victory on the opening day at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Aspire Beach Volleyball Qatar Master 2018.
The first outing at the three-day tournament proved favourable for the seeded teams as Australian and Iranian outfits also registered wins to start their campaigns on winning notes at Aspire Park.
Qatar’s Cherif and Tijan, however, recorded victory in quickest time as they outclassed Thailand’s Duanginda D.Kitti and Surin Onglang in straight games in only 24 minutes under lights.
The Qatari duo looked in the same form that powered them to the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship title (in September) and the Asian Games gold (in August) as the Thai pair looked overwhelmed by the shot-making of their Qatari opponents.
With Tijan being clinical in defense, lanky Cherif wasted no opportunity in scoring points with his trademark attacking display particularly the drop shots to outsmart the opponents.
The home side took the first game at 21-7 and a score of 6-3 was the closest gap Onglang and D Kitti could manage against the pre-event favourites. Following the score, Cherif and Tijan grabbed 10 points without giving anything in quick time and eventually sealed the first game to take lead.
It was almost the same story in the second game, which the World No.10 side claimed with a margin of 21-11 to complete rout over the Thais.
“We are happy with the start,” Cherif said after the victory yesterday.
“Our team was ranked better than Thailand and I am content that we proved our top billing,” he added.
The Qatari star, however, downplayed the favourites tag, saying the event will get tougher as it will advance.
“Anything can happen. The tournament is open and all we are looking is to maintain our standard. We are taking one match at a time and not thinking about the quarter-finals or semi-finals,” he said.
While Cherif and Tijan enjoying smooth sailing on the opening day, it was not the same case for the other two Qatari sides.
The pair of Assam Mahmoud and Tamer Abdelrasoul suffered defeat at the hands of Iran’s Rahman Raoufi and A. Mirzaali, who claimed a 2-1 victory over the home side. Mahmoud and Abdelrasoul, however, can take heart from their performance in the first game, which they won by 18-21 after a good fight, before the Iranians bounced back by taking the next two games 21-17 and 15-12.
Another Qatari outfit featuring Nasser Ahmed Al Meer and Hamad Al Kuwari fell to Thailand’s N Banlue and P Sedtawat who won the match in straight games (21-17, 21-7).
Meanwhile, second seed from Australia Cole Durrant and Damien Schumann rallied for their opening win against Kazakhstan’s Alexey Sidorenko and Alexander Dyachecnko.
The Kazakhs stunned the Aussies by claiming the first game 17-21 before Durrant and Schumann secured victory, seizing the next two games at 21-19, 15-12.
Another Australian pair of Christopher McHugh and Zachery Schubert, seeded third, defeated Sergey Bogatu and Dmitriy, also from Kazakhstan’s 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). The second pair from Iran comprising Arash Vakili and Bahman Miinjehbo, also got off to a winning start after defeating Oman’s Mazin Al Hashim and Nouh Al Jalbub with scores of 21-14 and 21-19.
Earlier, New Zealand’s Nicklin Alani and Hartles Thomas defeated Japan’s Takahashi Takumi and Yoshiumi Hasegawa 2-1 (15-21, 21-14, 13-15).
The group stage will conclude today with the quarter-finals also scheduled for the second day.
A total of 16 teams are taking part in the tournament with players eyeing maximum points to increase their chances of qualifying for World Championships, which has just four slots from Asia.
